


holiday season

by abqbitch



Category: Breaking Bad
Genre: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, F/M, don't judge me i am so sorry marie, wrote this while sleep deprived as shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28374237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abqbitch/pseuds/abqbitch
Summary: cute badger shit requested by my wonderful friend
Kudos: 5





	holiday season

**Author's Note:**

  * For [methriver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/methriver/gifts).



Marie sighed, pressing gently into her temples. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to figure out a plan for the day. She had been begging for a break, and now that she had it, she  _ really _ didn’t want to waste it. 

Cold air bit her hands and nose. Her hair kept her ears warm enough, and she was wearing a comfortable outfit with the extra fuzzy socks she was gifted last Christmas. She thought they looked dumb, but at least they were as warm as advertised. Staring at her phone for a few heartbeats, Marie awaited a message. Her mind was manipulating her into believing something would go wrong during her moment to breathe. A swear escaped her lips due to the tension, and she cut her phone screen off with a frustrated grumble. 

She made her way to her bedroom and grabbed a blanket from her bed. While dragging it to the couch, she took the remote, collapsed into the couch and let out an exasperated sigh. 

Hours seemed to pass endlessly, her eyes glued to the television screen but not processing much information. Her mind was elsewhere, delving into things that could go wrong and the possibility of new problems arising. She fumbled with the remote in her hands, anxiety surging through her veins. 

Her frustration over the situation didn’t help her relax. The last thing she wanted to do was waste her free time, yet she couldn’t keep her brain from wandering elsewhere. It seemed to do that often, and she was unfortunately used to it.

The piercing squeal of the door opening snapped her out of her trance. Her head quickly whipped over to the area of the sound, her eyebrows raised high on her forehead.

“Hey,” a husky voice greeted her, a tinge of excitement wrapped around his tongue. 

“Hey, Badger,” Marie replied softly, her heart pounding against her ribcage. She turned back to the screen, lowering her eyebrows. 

“What’s up?” He held a box of a dozen donuts in his arms. He always seemed to come home with something. He headed towards the table, placing the box down carefully. After a few moments of silence aside from the low rumble of the television, Badger swiveled his head around to look at Marie.

“What’s wrong?” he questioned again, pulling the beanie off of his head and tossing it on the end of the couch. He plopped down next to her, his head lowering slightly to look up at her. 

“Just stressed,” she answered hastily, “not a big deal.” She pursed her lips, returning his gaze. 

“About what?” 

He had a lot of questions.

“I just needed a break from the holiday stress,” she murmured. “Again, not a big deal. Nothing to worry about, I promise.” 

Badger’s expression softened. The concern had been mostly wiped off of his face. The rest of it washed away when she shot him a brief smile, and a tint of pink flooded his cheeks. 

“They’re almost over anyway,” he reassured, wrapping his arm around her in what was a half-assed hug. She appreciated the sentiment, though, and smiled in return, her eyes pointed at the floor. Badger rose from his seat and travelled to the kitchen. Marie watched as he stepped into the kitchen, but her eyes retreated to the floor once again.

Marie wrapped her blanket around her tighter, intently watching the scene playing on the screen. A slight hint of the sweet smell of cookies wafted in the air, causing her to lift herself from the couch and trudge into the kitchen. Hopeful curiosity glimmered in her eyes.

“What are you doing?” she chuckled, watching as he bent over the oven door. His head snapped sideways at the sound of her voice, and it provoked another giggle out of her. He flashed her a wide grin, closing the oven door as he stood upright. 

“I’m making cookies.” He approached her, wrapping his arms around her to squeeze gently. “For us.” 

When their bodies split, her eyes trailed his, smiling at each other warmly. They stood like that for a few moments: Marie looking into his eyes, and Badger looking at her eyes, then her lips, then her hair, then her neck, then her lips again, and finally back to her eyes. From his perspective, he was admiring her. From her perspective, he looked incredibly stupid.

“Are you doing anything with your friends tonight?” Marie asked, turning to grab a donut out of the box he had brought home. He took a few steps forward, stopping in the middle of the kitchen entrance. 

“No, and definitely not now.” She glanced at him — he was beaming at her. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “We can stay in and watch movies all night.”

“Is that what you think I wanna do?” 

“Well… yeah. Then—” 

“Then you’d be right.” She grinned at him, her skin creasing around the edges of her mouth and eyes. 

His expression expressed admiration. Something about her made a lightbulb activate in his brain. It made his stomach fold over itself. It made his heart flutter in his chest like a bird desperately ready to fly on its own. He genuinely adored her.

“You might wanna get your cookies, by the way.” She smirked, biting down on the donut between her teeth.

“Oh, shit,” he uttered, rushing back to the oven. The door swung open, allowing waves of steam to roll out. He grabbed the tray, swearing through his teeth.

“It’s okay, they’re not that burnt,” she giggled, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face.

“As long as you’re okay with it,” he murmured, a hint of embarrassment embedded deep into his voice. She raised an eyebrow, shrugging as she finished the last of her donut.

While Badger piled the cookies on a plate, Marie returned to the couch. He followed shortly after, the plate resting in his lap. The warmth of the cookies poured into his lap as he grabbed one, splitting it in half. Offering one half to Marie, he tossed the other half in his mouth.

“Hey, I know you said you wanted to get away from all of the holiday stress, but the boys and I were gonna go to a New Year’s party. You wanna come?”

Contemplation coated her gaze. He bit his lip, worrying that she was going to harshly lay a rejection onto him.

“It’s not gonna be anything big, just a few friends and friends of friends getting together for New Year’s.” He monitored her gaze intently, searching for a fragment of hope that he could latch on to. She pursed her lips, and then she turned her head towards him, her lips shifting into a smile.

“Sure.”

A wave of relief flooded over him. He gulped quietly, transferring his attention to the television. Now he had something even better to look forward to.

+

Loud music filled the room. The place smelled awful — cans of beer and soda littered the floor — and plenty of people in the room were passed out, sweating profusely, or both. Marie couldn’t stand it. She knew that she needed to be there for Badger, but she wanted to be able to breathe.  After sifting through a crowd that refused to give way, as though it completely ignored her existence, Marie noticed a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. 

Two chairs decorated the balcony. At first, she was only focused on taking a few deep breaths of air that was neither humid nor a biohazard. She brushed her fingers along the railing, the cold metal sending tiny pleasure ripples through her fingertips. Settling in the chair, she pressed her head against the freezing back and gently closed her eyes.

She heard the sliding door open again, and her eyelids pulled apart. Badger was stepping out onto the balcony, his fingers wrapped around a cup as he shut the door behind him. He took a seat in the chair next to her and gazed at her, awaiting her reaction.

“Hey,” she muttered with guilt, “sorry about kind of leaving the party for a bit.”

“Nah, it’s cool. You’re missing the countdown, though. Cutting it close now. I’d just hate to be one of the guys that passed out before it.” His head turned to face the stars, peering at the near-midnight sky.

“I didn’t know it meant so much to you.”

“Well, it doesn’t… really. I’d just rather say I was doing something when the timer hits zero than say I missed it, ‘cause that’s kinda lame.”

She turned to face him. With the moonlight glistening slightly on his face, he looked nice, she admitted. It outlined his facial structure: the shape of his jaw, the curve of his lips, the arch of his nose. Midnight complimented him well.

“Keep your phone on and watch the clock, then.” As soon as he glanced at her, she shot him a warm smile. He shrugged, grabbing his phone out of his pocket and setting it down on the table between them. 

“No, no, no, let’s stand up for it.” She picked his phone up, resting her elbows on the railing. He followed her, his arm grazing softly against hers as their eyes fastened on the clock.

January 1st, midnight.

Badger swiveled around smoothly, his hand connecting with her hip. His lips pressed against hers while her jaw perched upon his hand, his fingers guiding her as well as his lips. 

She tasted sweeter than he’d ever dreamed. 

After a few moments, their lips split. Her hands sunk down from his shoulders to his chest, and both of his hands were steady on her hips. They held each other’s gaze for a moment, reveling in their experience. 

“Happy New Year,” she smiled.

“Happy New Year, Marie.”


End file.
